Well, it was as good a plan as any. Ray was so heartbroken that Emily would have supported any idea that distracted her from that jerk. Not everyone was lucky enough to hit the relationship jackpot like she had.
A second later, Ray looked over Emily’s shoulder and crinkled her nose. “Urgh, Jack is here! I’m outta here,” she said and left without another word.
“Hey, baby.” Jack sat beside her and pulled Emily into a kiss. It went a little too deep and longer than Emily was comfortable with, especially in the cafeteria. But they’d been together for far too long for Emily to protest. Besides, Jack was too into PDA, so Emily had decided to go along with it.
Two days later, Ray had a new boyfriend, and she was happy again. She now always came with a plus one.
***
“No mustard on hot dogs? That’s a crime, Em!” Seb commented. He had been dating Ray for over two months, and he wouldn’t stop antagonizing Emily every chance he got.
“Well, your existence is a crime for girls everywhere in the world, so she’s okay,” Ray, ever the peacemaker, said, winking at Emily and kissing Seb on the cheek.
“Please don’t inflate his ego anymore, Ray. The dude already has trouble fitting his head in the cafeteria as is,” Emily scoffed.
“You’re just jealous of my oozing charm,” Seb said with a grin.
“Ew, don’t say words like oozing when I’m eating,” Emily said, sticking her tongue out for added effect.
Jack joined them at the table soon after. Emily thought she had successfully ditched him back with his chess club buddies in the lunch line. Turned out, it wasn’t as easy to get rid of him as Emily had thought.
Right on cue, he slid close to Emily, but she didn’t pay him much attention. She wasn’t in the mood for him anyway. And she’d noticed, around Seb, Jack was a little less Jack-y. He annoyed Emily a lot less. Maybe he was intimidated by the sheer size difference between them. But that couldn’t be it because Seb was literally a golden retriever!
The next day, Emily and Seb were in the computer science class, the only one just the two of them had together. “So, when are you breaking up with him?” Seb asked Emily out of nowhere.
Emily was too shocked to tell if Seb was joking. “With Jack? Why? He’s great,” she said, offended. Sure, Ray and Seb were going great for all of the two months they’d been together. But she’d been with Jack for three years now!
“Is he?” Seb had the audacity to look confused. “I didn’t think you even liked the guy,” he said, shrugging.
“Of course, I do! I love him,” Emily said, shocked by the line of questioning.
“Mmm-hmm, okay,” Seb said, not looking convinced.
Emily thought about their conversation that whole day. Then again, when they were all having lunch the next day. Jack silently shoved his food into his face beside her, and Seb and Ray were animatedly talking to each other and laughing. Emily quietly picked at her banana.
She thought about the conversation too many times to keep count over the next couple of weeks. It didn’t leave her head during the sleepover at her house. Seb was allowed to join as long as he slept on a separate mattress because her parents were super cool.
“Why don’t you ever invite Jack over anymore? Is it because I threatened to puke all over you the last time he was here?” Ray casually asked.
“What are you guys whispering about? I can’t hear you!” Seb complained.
“I asked Em why she didn’t invite Jack,” Ray said out loud.
“Oh yeah, Em. Please enlighten us,” Seb sat up on his mattress, so he could look at them.
Emily rolled her eyes at his antics. She didn’t want to go into it with him again, so she lied. “He had an online chess tournament game early tomorrow morning.”
She spent enough time with Jack already, so she didn’t want him here. That didn’t prove anything! Besides, she always had fun with Ray and Seb.
That conversation with Seb appeared in her head again on a rare date with Jack when they were watching a movie, and his hand was under her shirt and his tongue inside her mouth.
She backed away when Seb’s face suddenly popped up in her head.
“I don’t think I love you,” Emily blurted. The relief that descended on her as soon as the words left her mouth cemented the fact that it was the truth.
“What?” Jack asked.
Emily realized he might not have heard her due to the loud noise coming from the screen.
